Broken Dolls
by Windlion
Summary: Since I'm new to the whole fanfic.net thing, I'm starting out with my apparently most well-liked story, which is my somewhat creepy answer to a horror challenge. . .


Author notes: Heyla! This is my first posting on Fanfiction.net. ^^; In case anyone's wondering, I first posted this a _LONG_ time ago on the GWML, and I just decided to leave it with the original in-between-chapter comments intact. ^^;; Hopefully it's not too bad. . .

(*Coughs* And extreme apologies for the coding error. _ Teach me to check all of my stuff before posting it. . .) 

Before reading, please go here first! http://www.angelfire.com/mo/CelebritySkin/painting.html 

If you don't, you'll lose the freaky effect. ^^;;;; (Trust me: it is freaky indeed.)

Disclaimer: Not mine. . . yadda yadda yadda. . . making no money. . . yadda yadda yadda. . . no tengo dinero, so don't sue me!/P

*stares at what she's written and shudders* Okay... I have no idea why I'm

writing this... and I'm just scaring myself here... *turns wide pleading eyes

to the ML* Please tell me if this scares you as much as it scares me... I'm

not even looking at the pictures again! Not until daylight, atleast.

*shudders* Too weird. _Way_ too weird. And I just have this image of a little

girl crying out for that doll-thing... reaching for it... like those hands

behind them in the pictures. *shudders* I'm not going to sleep well

tonight.... 

Oh. Warnings: Weird architectural babbling, the beginnings of my first attempt

at horror, sorta-shounen-ai w/ 3 and 4, implied 2x1 relationship... 

All right, I have no idea why I'm doing this, especially after one a.m. when

I'm *sniffs dramatically* all alone! 

Ah well.... I think this'll actually be a mix of humor with the horror... Like

I could write a pure horror fic, anyways! *snorts derisively* 

**__**

Broken Dolls

Part 1

"Ooo, isn't this place great?!" Duo gushed as he bounced down the

hallway-balcony. 

The tower-turned-house was very very old, but it was large. The way it was

decorated was quite clearly remniscent of times before the colonies were even

a dream. The round tower was constructed so that the rooms were all shaped

like the outer portions of a wedge, all in a circle. The rooms all exited

onto a balcony that, in front of Duo's room, had stairs curling along the

walls down to the rather large foyer/ballroom. [1] Wufei's room was an

L-shape, allowing the attic stairs to end in a door onto the same balcony. 

Next to the attic-stairs door was the all-important bathroom. [Gundam pilots

or no, whenever you take five people anywhere, the bathroom becomes an

important thing. And I speak from experience. -_-] On the groundfloor (since

there was a rather impressive set of steps leading to the door on the second

level of the house) was the kitchen, living room, and den. 

"I mean, we all get our own rooms and everything!" He eyed Quatre, his most

recent ex-roommate. "Not that sharing rooms was really bad or anything. . ." 

but he's a neat freak! At least Heero doesn't actually clean up my stuff. . .

He beamed. "Anyways, I get the room across from the stairs!" 

Wufei smirked as he walked down the hall. "I'll take the room behind the attic

stairs. Then I won't be bothered by your noise when you roam at night,

Maxwell." [2]

Trowa shrugged and walked into the room next to Wufei's. Heero snorted and

took the room next to Duo's. No one paid the balcony or rooms a second look. 

There was nothing more for them to see, and that, they thought, was that. 

Later that night, however... 

Quatre bolted straight upright, heart pounding. He was a Gundam pilot, so it

wasn't that easy to frighten him. Yet... he was scared beyond belief. He

gazed out his window. Moonlight shone through, and illuminated the cold

waters calmly meeting the rocky beach below. His room, however, remained too

dark for his taste. And far, far too cold. 

He scrambled out of the unfamiliar bed and crept across the chill stone floor

to the door. He was halfway around the balcony to the bathroom when he

stopped in front of Trowa's door. Trowa. . . Without knowing precisely why,

he gently knocked on the door. 

Trowa opened the door a moment later. He'd been unable to sleep, so, when the

knock came, he'd been quite ready for a distraction from staring at the

cieling. Not that he was likely to admit it. . . He opened the door, then

stared. His midnight visitor was deathly pale, eyes wide; the pale hand that

had just knocked on his door shook. 

"Quatre. . . what happened?" He fought down a protective urge that took him by

surprise. This was Quatre- no, he was a Gundam pilot. Whatever was wrong, it

had to be substantial. But he was _Quatre_. . . He shook his head slightly as

Quatre answered slowly. 

Quatre murmured, "There was a horrible feeling. . . anger. . . and I had a

terrible dream." He shook his head, as if to free the words. "I, Trowa, I know

it must sound ridiculous but I felt something terrible, terribly cold. When I

woke, I could hardly breathe, and the room was freezing. . ." 

Trowa's voice was quiet, but filled with concern. "Nightmares? Are you all

right?" 

Quatre whispered hesitatantly. "Yes. . . but. . ." His eyes were filled with

fear and an unmistakable need. 

Trowa gave up on fighting down the protectiveness- Quatre needed him, needed

safety, needed to know he was safe. "You can stay with me, tonight." 

He pushed his door completely open and stood back, letting the other boy step

into the room in front of him, then pushed the door shut. Somewhat awkwardly,

they both sat on the bed. After a moment, by silent agreement, they both moved

to opposite sides of the bed and slid under the covers, in an attempt to

sleep. Trowa stared across the room, Quatre in front of him. He never

noticed when his eyes drifted shut, when his hand drifted forward to rest on

Quatre's shoulder. Quatre did, though, for that was the only moment when he

actually felt safe and began to drowse. 

That is, before the room darkened. With the loss of illuminating moonlight in

the room, the heat seemed to disappear as well. He shivered suddenly,

scooting back up against Trowa unconsciously, eyes wide. "Trowa!" he

whispered urgently. "Something. . ." 

He felt the strong hand at his shoulder grip his arm protectively, almost

possessively. Trowa sat up, eyes wide and searching the pitch black room. 

"Something," he echoed. He could feel it, like a tangible prescence. Without

thinking, he held Quatre closer to him. 

The chill deepened. 

In the dark, a face appeared- a strange mockery of a girl child's face. It

scowled at them, eyes empty holes, then it's mouth seemed to move. "I want my

dolly!" The voice was strange, echoing, high pitched, childish, a whine, a

plea, an order, who knew. 

[1] This is all confusing and seemingly pointless, I know, but it's called a

very boring show of exposition. *Sweatdrops* I can't wind architectural design

notes into the G-boys' casual conversation. It's just not happening. -_-;;;

And, btw, I'm half-imagining the house from Casper here.... *sweatdrops* why

are you all looking at me like I'm a lil kid? I saw it when my sister rented

it. ;P (never mind that she's older than me. -_- Now I _really_ feel young...)

*coughs* Anyways, I think their rooms are about three stories or so above the

ground... and if the house is on a hill with the entry on the high-side of it,

then this isn't as crazy as it sounds. 

[2] *smirks* I think the hentais can guess what he means. But this refers to

how poor Wufei, in fics, always seems to end up rooming besides where Heero

and Duo keep each other 'company' at night. *snorts* And do so quite noisely,

too... So he gets about as much sleep as they do. *shakes her head in

bemusement* 

Methinks I'm not going to sleep tonight. *eyes wide* I need caffiene... and a

blanket... *sniffs and looks piteous* 

*blushes and shakes her head* All right, enough of that, I'll keep writing....

*sweatdrops and makes sure her light's on before wandering off* Sorry this was

so short!

~Windwolf

****

Part 2

(Warning: some swearing. shounen-ai. my attempt at ghost-horror. Please don't

hurt me!) 

One wide green eye met two wide blue-green eyes. They agreed. As one, they

hurried out of the bed, and, skirting the far wall, slid out into the hallway.

Without thinking, they both hurried towards the stairway, pulling to a stop

when Duo's door opened. 

The sleepy-looking pilot blinked blearily at them, "Eh? Trowa, Quatre? Wha's

going on?"

Three frightened wide eyes stared at the sleepy pilot. After a moment, Trowa

spoke. "Quatre had nightmares and came to me. Then we saw... something." 

"Something?" the pilot of Deathscythe was skeptical. 

Quatre got a hold of himself and took his turn. "We saw something... a face."

"Of a girl-doll." 

"And it glared at us and spoke. . ." 

Duo eyed them like they should be wearing straightjackets- if not just because

the two were speaking in turns. "Riiiiight. And what were you two doing

before this?" 

"Attempting to sleep." Trowa shot Duo a quick, cold, protective look. 

Duo winced. He looks like a lioness protecting her cubs. Hit him in a weak

spot, I guess. . . "Yeah, yeah. I don't get it, though. . . Probably just a

dream." 

"But we both saw it," Quatre spoke up again, apparently counting the glare as

a turn. "And the room was so cold. . ."

"Maybe your heater died. I know mine's coughed and sputtered and threatened

to," Duo laughed and gestured at his room. "Geez, guys, just go downstairs if

you're cold." He rubbed his eyes, "_I_ am going to sleep." With that, he

turned and walked into his room, shutting the door behind him. 

Trowa and Quatre looked at each other for a moment, then back at their doors. 

In consent, they went to spend the rest of the night downstairs, preferably

awake until the safety of morning light. 

* * * 

Duo sighed as he climbed back into his bed. What had gotten into those two? He

curled up into a happy, warm ball as he attempted to fall back asleep. Weird.

They'd figure everything out in the morning. . . 

A moment later, his head jerked up and he was completely awake. Someone was in

his room. The room was lightless, but. . . wait, there was a faint glow. 

The glow seemed to grow, coming out of one of his walls, solidifying into a

figure. The figure was that of a young boy with a squarish face, wearing

_very_ old-fashioned clothes. 

Duo stared. All of the heat in the room seemed to vanish with that presence,

and, never looking up, the figure made it's way through the room, closer and

closer to Duo. 

Without realizing it, Duo scooted back and flattened against the head of the

bed. 

"Oh my God!" 

When it reached the foot of the bed, the glowing figure of the boy seemed to

look at the bed, rather than at Duo, then turned away. The boy continued

walking, going _through_ the bed, then disappearing out the wall besides the

bed. Duo stared, body tensed, shocked. "What the _Hell_ was that?!" 

He didn't know when the vague glimmering of an idea turned into action, but

the next thing he knew, he was knocking on Heero's bedroom door and bouncing

from foot to foot with anxiety. "Heero!" 

A moment later, he found himself face to face with the Perfect Soldier. "Hn.

Duo..." 

"Heero! You won't believe what happened!" 

"Hn. Go back to sleep." 

"Uh-uh, no way I'm going back in there! Man, I saw a ghost! A boy! He walked

through the room, through the _bed_! I am _NOT_ going back in there!" 

"There's no such thing as ghosts." 

"Ooh yes there is! How much do you wanna bet?! Pleaaaaaaaaase, just let me

stay with you!" His violet eyes took on a pleading look as they stared deep

into Prussian blue. 

Heero looked at the wide-eyed and anxious Duo. For all he was babbling like

normal, there was a deep thread of fear visible there. He sighed mentally,

but snorted outloud. "Baka." He held open the door. 

"Really, Heero? Arigato~!" 

Heero just snorted. I already regret this. . . 

Ten minutes later, he was still thinking the same thing. Duo snored away on

his bed while he lay, hair-triggered, on the opposite edge. It was because of

this that he felt the temperature difference as soon as it happened. "Duo.

Wake up. Something's wrong..." 

"Eh, wah?" 

A quick hand grabbed a chestnut braid and dragged the half-asleep pilot

forward. Just in time for him to open his eyes to witness the gathering of

light again. 

"Oh, shit, Heero, that's what happened when-"

The other hand clamped over his mouth. The figure coalesced- but this time, it

wasn't a boy. 

It was a mockery of a human being, it's eyes empty, it's mouth scowling, it's

surface 'skin' discolored and disfigured with age. The. . . doll skipped

across the floor, sending Duo's skin crawling. He pulled away from Heero and

back. "It-" 

He didn't say another word, before the 'girl' doll kept on her skipping path. 

Right through Heero and a dresser. And out the other wall. 

Duo was shocked. Slowly, he turned his gaze from where the 'girl' doll

disappeared to Heero. 

Heero's eyes were wide, mouth open in shock, and Duo would swear there was a

bead of sweat on his forehead. In short, he showed a great deal more emotion

than Duo would normally have thought possible. 

He winced and put a hand on his shoulder. "Uhm, Heero, why don't we just...

spend the night with Quatre and Trowa? Downstairs!" 

Heero nodded stiffly, regaining some composure and shutting his mouth with a

snap before leading the way. Duo noticed that, composure or no, he carefully

avoided stepping where the ghost had been. 

* * * 

In the morning... 

Duo felt like cheering as the first rays of the sun peaked over the horizon

and hit the stone tower. "Finally... it's over, guys!" 

The other three looked up from their card game. Quatre's voice was weary, but

held a note of hope as he asked, "Really, finally?" 

Duo nodded. "Yeah. We can sleep, guys..." 

Trowa and Heero nodded silent agreement. 

An all-too-awake voice broke through their dreary movements of getting

comfortable on the combined heap of blankets in the middle of the foyer. "And

what did you four do all last night?" 

There was a vague note of amusement in that voice. And, right then, Duo could

have killed him for it. He bit out the words, "Wufei. We spent last night,

huddled, awake, terrified, down here, in the warmth, in the light, in each

other's presence, until that damned night was _over_!" 

Wufei blinked and raised an elegant eyebrow in question. 

Quatre was the only one to respond wearily. "It's a long story. . . we saw two

ghosts. One looked at, then walked past Duo. The other one talked to us and

walked through Heero." 

The elegant eyebrow rose _much_ higher. "I see." 

Heero just snorted and turned over next to Duo, who had already fallen into

peaceful oblivion. 

Trowa looked piercingly at Wufei, gauging the other boy. "It's a long story."

"One that can wait until you've slept. Understood." 

"One that can wait until we've slept _peacefully_," Trowa returned. He

watched the Chinese pilot, waiting to see if he'd catch his meaning. 

He was rewarded with the slightest of nods and a slight, softening look in the

ebony eyes as they gazed at the drowsy Quatre next to him, and at the unlikely

pair past them. "Very well. When you've all slept in peace." [3]

* * * 

Wufei snorted in amusement to see that Duo was the first to wake up. 

"It's about time." 

"Eh?" Duo rubbed his eyes and looked around the now-sunfilled room where he

and the three other pilots had crashed. "What time is it?" 

"Three, in the afternoon." The Chinese pilot looked amused from where he sat

at the foot of the stairs, about ten feet away from the still-sleeping pile of

pilots. [4] By the look of things, he was just sitting there, reading his

book, but, by the sword sitting on the stair next to him, Duo could tell

otherwise. 

"What were you doing?" he, still sleepily, asked. 

Wufei just raised an elegant eyebrow as the other boys slowly started sitting

up. "I suggest asking Trowa that." 

Duo blinked, still not quite wide-awake as he looked at his fellow pilot.

"Eh?" 

Trowa shrugged and continued to help Quatre extract himself from the tangle of

sheets he created tossing and turning. "I asked Wufei to keep watch." 

Wufei looked at them, a slightly irked expression on his face. "And now that

you're awake, I would like to know _what_ I was keeping watch for." 

Duo winced, "Pleaaaa~se not until I have coffee! And a shower!" 

The boy, who had just sat on watch for a good ten hours, was impassive. 

"Why?"

"Why not? Wu-man, pleaaaa~se?" Wide violet eyes pleaded. 

The Chinese pilot wasn't immune to violet puppy eyes. He sighed. "I will wait

until you have prepared, Maxwell." 

Quatre watched the scene and shared a small smile with Trowa. It wasn't often

someone got Wufei to back down, and he doubted that anyone other than Duo

would have been able to puppy-eye the stern boy. [5]

Heero's expression, now that he had his composure again, was flat. "Hn. We

meet back here in twenty minutes."

Twenty minutes later, as promised, the four-much-more-awake pilots met with

the one slightly annoyed pilot. After a lot of explaining and

tale-telling...

Wufei sat silently for a minute. "So you're saying this tower is haunted." 

"Yes!" Duo shouted. His eyes were a bit wide from having to retell his

experiences. He looked at the Chinese boy. "You're taking this pretty well." 

He smiled slightly, still calm. "I was raised around many superstitions. The

question to ask now is, what are we going to do about it?" 

* * *

That night... Quatre's room. 

Duo muttered, "I still don't see why we have to stay upstairs. . . These beds

are a whole lot bigger when you don't stick five people in them!" 

There was a muffled growl from Wufei, at the end of the bed. "Be quiet,

Maxwell. There's no where else to sit in these rooms, and the floor is ice

cold. I'd just as rather not wait standing on it." 

Quatre, sitting at the head of the bed, looked at the group in dismay. The

way the twin-sized bed was set against the wall didn't allow them much room at

all; they sat in a line, Quatre at one end next to Trowa, who was in turn next

to Heero, who was next to Duo, who was next to Wufei at the foot of the bed.

[6] "Please, be quiet, you two. We have to listen. . ."

There was some shifting and grumbling from the end of the bed, then it was

silent again. 

Trowa ignored the scuffling and stared into the darkness. There was something

about the way the shadows pooled around the furniture in the room that was

bothering him. As the moonlight brightened while the clouds shifted, he

noticed something. "Look. By the closet door." 

Four pairs of eyes snapped to the location, but Quatre was the first to speak.

"A shadow. . . where there shouldn't be one. . ."

"No." Heero's voice was harsh, but quiet. "It's a pool of something. Wufei,

give me the flashlight." 

The flashlight was duly passed down the line to Heero, the other's waiting

nervously as he turned it on. Carefully avoiding looking around the room in

depths, he aimed the beam of light at the unnatural puddle. It glistened red.

He carefully stepped off the bed and walked forward to the puddle. The others

clustered closely together and followed in his wake, none eager to be

separated. Safety in numbers, and all. Heero tilted his head and looked at

the puddle carefully, taking a Kleenex from the nearby dresser and dipping it

in it, just in case the liquid was poisonous or acidic. After a moment of

looking at it, even going so far as sniffing it, he nodded. "It's blood. It

seems to be coming from under the closet door. . ."

The group eyed the closet warily. "Should we open the door?" Duo asked

hesitantly. 

Heero shook his head. "No. If there's something in there, it will still be

there in the morning." Or so he rationalized. . . 

Quatre shivered. He had a very, very bad feeling about this. . . The closer he

got to the closet and the pool of blood, the worse he felt. There was a

feeling of anger, hate, pain, and fear there. All feelings that woke a deep

terror in him. Unconsciously, his hand reached out and found anothers. Trowa

cast him a questioning look, but didn't say a word as his own hand clasped

Quatre's trembling one. 

As one, the five pilots backed their way up to the bed. Duo was the first to

speak, though he was inconspicously leaning against Heero and his voice shook

slightly. "So. . . I think that would count as a visitation." 

"It would." Wufei responded, somewhat shaken. "We should move to Trowa's

room, in case the visitations follow a path." 

There were no arguements. Carefully, they stood and began to negotiate the

route across the room and along the balcony. Moments later, they were sitting

on Trowa's bed, much the same as they were before.

Quatre stared into the darkness, thinking. The level of fear had backed down

a bit, but was still present. He could feel it. . . But he couldn't let it

affect his judgement. He closed his eyes for a moment when a thought came to

him. What if they'd missed a visitation the other night? None of them had

been awake at the same moment. Just because some of them had been awake for

particular ones was no reason to believe they hadn't missed any. 

After a few moments, Quatre quietly said, "We're being foolish. We ought to

split up to monitor the rooms that have been visited. Wufei, your room has

been ignored so far, and I think it'll stay that way. It seems your room and

the foyer are relatively safe. I-I don't trust the groundfloor or attic,

though." No. He got the feeling that those would be unpleasant places to be. .

. if not because of the boy and girl ghosts, then for other reasons. He

couldn't stop a shiver. He blinked as he felt his hand gripped reassuringly. 

He flashed a quick smile at Trowa in the dark before continuing. "Wufei, you

should go to Heero's room, and Duo and Heero, you should go to Duo's room. 

Trowa and I'll keep watch here."

Four terse nods answered his orders; not quite pleased to be split up, but

understanding what he meant. 

Duo gave him a nervous grin in parting. "Oi, good luck! Anyone see anything,

just scream..." 

Heero stood silently. Wufei just gave them a grave nod before standing and

leading the trio out into the hallway, then to their respective rooms. 

* * *

Wufei sighed as he shifted uneasily in the dark, hand gripping his sword hilt

tightly. As much as he hated to admit it, he was somewhat jealous of the

others... They had each found someone else to love. Someone within their

reach, if they could bring themselves to do so. . . Duo and Heero were a

fledgling couple, that was obvious. He, in particular, clearly knew that

they'd slept with each other more than once, but the trust and bond between

them was only now developing. Atleast Heero hadn't pushed Duo away. . . He

shook his head and continued with his thoughts. Then there was Quatre and

Trowa. They may not even know it yet themselves, but they were a strong

couple. Quatre clearly cared for and loved Trowa, and Trowa cared for Quatre right back. 

He let a small smile cross his face. Those two had a sweet bond already, and

merely had to let themselves realize it. 

However. . . that, like now, left the other pilots paired off and quite

happily so. Leaving him sitting alone in the dark. . . Wufei shook his head. 

He was perfectly fine here; he was strong enough to be the one alone. 

Then why did his heart keep crying out for the comfort of his enemy? 

He stared into the darkness. He couldn't understand it. The need for

comfort, the need for a comforting pair of arms, the need for _him_! 

Anguished ebony eyes stared into the darkness. Only to find, after a moment,

empty ebony staring right back. He froze, eyes riveted to a pair of points in

the dark space of the room. . .

A white glow slowly spread from those points. It showed. . . a girl? No, a

doll. But as it stepped forward, it moved like a girl. . . The empty black

sockets of the face gazed deep intos his own. There was a similar feeling. .

. a strangely parallel feeling of loss and a desperate need for something out

of reach. 

The girl-doll smiled. And reached out an arm towards him. "I want my dolly. 

Get me my dolly?" 

The voice was odd, childish, echoing, yet it spoke in a strangely normal,

lively, pleading tone. But the words, there was a question. 

Slowly, he stood. "I will, if I can. Where is your dolly?"

The feeling of pleading and desperate need came again. "My brother took my

dolly. I don't want him to break my dolly. Can you get me my dolly?" The

voice almost seemed on the verge of tears. 

Not knowing precisely why, Wufei nodded. And desperately hoped he was doing

the right thing. 

[3] If you're wondering what the meaning of this is, it's basically Trowa

asking Wufei to make sure that they sleep peacefully and safely. Wufei

doesn't need to know what's going on to understand that request... Eh, just

wait a few lines, and you'll see. ^_^ 

[4] I know, you've got to be going "How's Heero still sleeping?!" It's OOC for

him, but I'll just blame that on the fact a ghost walked through him. ^_^

Wouldn't that make _you_ act OOC? 

[5] *innocent eyes* Don't ask me if that means anything... Wu's just loosening

up a bit. ^_~

[6] *tries to imagine all of the pilots sitting on such a small bed, lined up,

in the dark, all nervous and staring into the night...* *imagines the stray

elbows, muttered comments, people jumping off the bed in jitters when poked,

only to hit ice cold floor and jump back again...* 

*cracks up* 

(Just in case anyone's freaked, here's an omake to diffuse the tension... and especially for

those hentais out there. *looks pointedly at certain readers* ^_~ :

*Wufei, sitting alone, stares into the dark and angsts* 

*suddenly, disrupting his perfectly angsty silent mood, the sound of creaky

bedsprings can be heard through the wall* 

*Wufei stubbornly tries to ignore the noise and keeps angsting. A few minutes

later, that becomes impossible as different, more- *cough* lively noises

start* 

*Wufei glares at the wall but remains rooted in place, in case there's another

stray pool of red liquid (not necessarily blood, any red liquid tends to stain

white outfits beyond repair)* 

*He snarls as the moans and such escalate into screams and shrieks* 

*patience long gone, Wufie stalks out of the room and to the door of Duo's

room* You two _DO_ realize we're supposed to be having a serious horror fic

going on?! Do you understand how deep an angst scene your noises ruined?!?! 

*Duo pops open the door, fully dressed and unrumpled.* Oh, sorry, Wu-man, we

were just watching TV... *pops back into his room and shuts the door, leaving

Wufei standing gaping in the hallway* 

*muttering, Wufei makes his way back to his room... distinctly clear in his

grumbling is a comment about how that would never happen at an Oz base... or

one of Treize's mansions...*)

Sorry, sorry... *grins* Don't know what came over me. *looks at Trekai

curiously* 

*Trekai waves back and smiles with an innocent "who, me?" look* 

~Windwolf

Yaaaaay! *cheers* I said I'd do it, and I've done it! *grins* Three a.m. on

Thursday may still be considered Wednesday night. And I've finished it! 

Three parts, and epi, not bad. ^_^ *sweatdrops* It ends up about 12 pages,

though- not too impressive. 

Anyways... *beams* this is the end of it, and it's not as scary as the other

parts. Sorry if anyone thinks I had too little of someone... *sweatdrops*

Surprisingly, this ended up centering on Quatre and Trowa's end of things.

Wufei gets his bit in there, too... Duo and Heero have a moment, but I'm

afraid I don't think of either of 'em as being material for a medium, so...

*shrugs* It stands as is. ^_^ Enjoy!

****

Part 3

Quatre was nervous- Trowa could tell. No matter how Quatre tried to mask the

worry with a calm face in the dark, he could feel the tenseness in the warm

hand he still held. That, more than anything they'd seen, frightened him the

most. Quatre knew something they didn't. . . "Quatre. . . what's wrong?"

Trowa kept his voice low as he asked. 

The other boy started, then flashed a smile. "Nothing, I'm just a little

nervous." And. . . I get the feeling that, whatever we saw last night, it's

going to be worse tonight. 

Trowa nodded, seconding the opinion, then they went back to waiting in nervous

silence, each glad that they were not alone. 

* * *

Duo was _not_ afraid. Or so he kept telling himself. The God of Death

couldn't be afraid of someone he had already met! Duo shifted in place

restlessly. He was just- anxious. Yeah, that was the word to describe it. 

And, of course, he was worried for Heero. That was all. . . 

Heero looked at the fidgeting boy and snorted. "Hn. Can't you stay still?" 

"Not right now!" Duo glared at him. "Do you have any idea what's going to

happen tonight?" 

"No. Neither do you."

"Damn right! I mean, who knows? One of us could be hurt. . ." 

Heero simply snorted again and resettled on the bed, making sure he had the

best view of the room possible from where they were. Duo was nervous. Still,

he had good reason. . . After a moment, he rested a hand on the braided boy's

shoulder. He wasn't going to let anything happen to them. 

Suddenly, he tensed. He heard footsteps. Above them. But the footsteps

sounded light, close together, and almost scuffing. Like a reluctant child's.

. .

Duo looked over his shoulder at Heero. "Don't tell me you don't hear that."

The footsteps paced for a time, back and forth over their heads, then, seemed

to walk away from them. Duo looked uneasy as he shrank back towards Heero. 

As they waited, they could hear a low voice in the next room. It was

impossible to tell what the voice said, but, soon after, a rythmic small

clacking noise, like wood on wood, seemed to move out of the room and away. 

[7] The pilots traded introspective looks. That could mean anything. . .

-but it was a good bet that Wufei had just been "visited". 

Who knew who was next? 

* * *

Trowa and Quatre both started as they heard footsteps approach. They seemed

to come from above- then moved down. Down the stairs in front of the room

next door. . . And from the room next door. . . A glow entered the room as

the glowing figure of a young boy scuffed angrily into the room. His face

seemed twisted with anger, and he stamped his foot as he came to a stop by the

bed. 

Quatre's eyes widened at the sheer amount of anger pouring off the child. 

They widened more as the boy began to mutter. . .

"Stupid sister, stupid doll. She always cries, always gets what she wants,

always gets the stupid things that she wants for her doll . . ." the young

voice was sullen as he turned on his heel to glare belligerently at the pair

sitting frozen in place on the bed. "It's not my fault she went after it! 

Why should I get punished 'cause she'd do something stupid? _She_ never gets

punished. . ." 

The eyes glared at Quatre with a child's rage, daring him to answer. "Why'd I

get punished? Why do I always get punished 'stead of her?!" 

For a moment, he had no idea what to say, do. But. . . he had to do

something. 

Slowly, he stood up, Trowa moving behind him, and moved to kneel in front of

the figure of the boy. "I don't know why. What did you do?" 

There was a moment of surprise in the child's eyes, quickly replaced by

sullenness. "I didn't do anything! I just held up the doll, and she went

running. . . ain't my fault she didn't stop before the window!" 

Quatre's eyes widened as he pictured the scenario, could see it in his mind. 

He felt a touch of horror, then, in the form of the reassuring hand on his

shoulder, realized he had to help the boy. [8] "Who didn't stop?"

"M' little sis. She's such a spoiled brat!" 

Cautiously, Quatre spoke, "I see. What were you doing with her doll?" 

"I's just teasin' her. [9] Really! I always tease her 'bout her stuff. She's

so spoiled!" His face screwed up in a grimace, then he eyed Quatre again. "'s

not like I ever did 'nythin'. Papa'd kill me fer sure if I did. . ." The eyes

were hard, daring Quatre to suggest that he _had_ done something. 

Quatre kept his face patiently calm. "I never said you did. . . Ah, what's

your name?" 

"Dunno." The boy shrugged ambigously. "Forgot. They always jus' called me

'boy'." 

Quatre winced inwardly. It was sad, that a little boy would be treated like

that. "All right. . . Do you mind if I call you Sam?" For some reason, he

could feel that the name fit. 

"Yeah. Yah can call me Sam, or whatever." The boy shrugged uneasily. "I mean,

you're older, yah gotta do what the older people tell you to." 

Quatre responded, "But it depends on what they ask you to do, doesn't it?" 

_That_ got Sam's attention. "Whadja mean?" 

Carefully, Quatre held out a hand. "Sometimes older people ask you to do

things for your own good, to help you, to discipline you, to teach you. But

there's boundaries. . . If someone loves you, you can trust that if you do the

things they ask of you, it'll be for the better. If someone loves you, they

won't hurt you." Trowa. . . please listen. . . More than one person in this

room, dead or living, has been hurt. 

The boy blinked. "They won't?" 

"Never." The golden haired boy's voice was firm with conviction,

understanding, and hidden emotion. 

"Then. . . papa. . . why'd he. . .?" 

Quatre sighed in sadness. "I'm sure your papa loved you. But if he hurt you,

then the things he did weren't out of love. I bet he regretted everything he

did to hurt you."

"He-he did?"

The elder boy nodded. "If something is an accident, you should not be blamed

for it." 

"It- it _was_ an accident. . . sis. . . I didn' mean any of it. . ." The boy's

face turned sad and he sniffled. He was losing his grip on the anger. 

"You know, you _can_ apologize to her." 

The boy's eyes lit up, dead, yet alive. "Really?" 

Quatre smiled. "Of course. Tell her what you told me. . . That you didn't

mean to hurt her, her doll, or anything." 

The boy nodded, then, slowly, turned and walked through the wall holding the

closet. 

Quatre turned and looked at Trowa. "What-?" 

A voice came from the now-open doorway. Their heads jerked up to look at the

source. "Your room and Trowa's room. . . they used to be one large nursery

room. This. . ." the gesture took in room, "was the boy's room. Trowa's was

the girl's, Heero's the mother's, Duo's the nanny's, and mine the servant's."

Trowa looked hard at the Chinese pilot. His voice was weary, but his eyes

were full of something. . . then, as he stepped into the room, Trowa stared. 

Wufei was carefully holding the hand of the glowing figure of a young girl. .

. a young girl who bore a certain resemblance to the doll they'd seen before. 

Cautiously, he stepped forward and to the side, letting her step forward and

gaze at the pilots. The eyes, previously empty, were now bright. Just like

the boy's. . . 

Wufei nodded to her, his eyes meeting her brown ones once more. Quatre,

somehow, heard the Chinese boy's voice, telling the girl. . .

"Your brother is waiting for you. You can go talk to him, if you wish." There

was a quiet smile to these words. "Or you may make him wait as long as you

want. No one will force you to do anything, act anyway. You no longer need

to be weak for your family-" there was a fierceness to his tone, now,- "be

strong for yourself. Don't remain tied to where you no longer belong. . . You

will have people who care for you." Very quietly, the voice finished. "You

don't need to be alone." 

Finally, Wufei let go of her hand and stood back. He smiled slightly at the

girl, then gestured towards the wall with the closet. She nodded back, then,

with a smile, skipped forwards to disappear through the wall. Quatre stared

after her, then looked back at Wufei.

Trowa looked at the two of them, somewhat confused. What was going on? How

did Wufei talk to the girl. . .? [10]

Quatre smiled as he looked over his shoulder, seeing the confusion in Trowa's

eyes. "Don't worry about it, Trowa. It's done. . . We should find out how Duo

and Heero faired." 

As they moved, the first light of dawn brightened the room.

* * *

Epilogue:

Quatre looked out the window, watching the light creep over the landscape,

casting shadows in places, brightly illuminating others. From the boy's

conviction about how his father would punish him for any transgression, he

could guess how the boy had died. And they knew how the girl had died. It

was terrible. . . But, now, things had been corrected. He turned to discover

Trowa waiting for him.

"We're ready to leave." 

Quatre nodded, wordlessly. He walked forward, Trowa stepping aside to let him

go first. He stopped a moment on the balcony in between their rooms. They

had discovered the painting that morning, hanging on the wall in between their

rooms, in front of the place where the small section of room had been walled

off. The painting, they vaguely remembered as passing off as strange harmless

art, the day before. The picture had been of a girl-doll, and an angry boy. 

Now, it showed a smiling young girl and her older brother. It was a fitting

memorial for them- remembering not their death, but the way they continued

their afterlife. 

Trowa waited patiently for him to move on, also gazing at the painting in

acknowledgement. None of them were likely to forget what had happened, here.

The lessons learned. . . 

A moment later, they continued, walking down the stairs to the foyer where

Wufei held the door open in wait for them. He was quiet as well, simply

waiting for them to take their time. Quatre whispered his thanks in passing

while Trowa merely nodded. 

Wufei smiled slightly at their backs as he let the door close behind him. 

They were no longer alone. . . And he finally wasn't, either. He had someone

waiting for him. . . someone whom he, despite the odds, loved. 

As the rest got into the car, he took one last look at the tall stone tower. 

This experience was not one he was likely to forget. For if it taught the

children love, it taught him how to finally let go. 

Meiran. . . I will miss you. But I have no right to hold you here, to tie my

memories of your strength to my present. You are better moving on, to where

others will care for you. I can no longer ignore the memories I am making in

the present. . . My memories of your strength will inspire my own, but I can

no longer use your own. Farewell, my wife. . . 

Finally, the car drove away. In their memories of the tower, words still

echoed. . .

"If someone loves you, they won't hurt you."

"You don't have to be alone." 

~Owari~

[7] These would be the girl-doll's footsteps. I'm assuming Wufei's steps

would be silent. . . unless he was on a really, really, really creaky floor.

^_^;;; 

[8] Just something I want to point out here.... notice that while Trowa's

hearing the conversation, he's always touching Quatre when he does. That's

important. ^_~ 

[9] No, I'm not typoing like mad here... I'm attempting to show his possible

speech pattern. -_-;; 

[10] In case I'm too confusing, *sweatdrops* what I meant to be understood

here was that only Quatre and Wufei could "talk" to the ghosts.... and that

when they did, it wasn't necessarily outloud...

Oh, and that lil Meiran-bit, though it mighta been out of place, may be

considered in response to one of the comments on the earlier parts. ^_^ 

Big thanks to those who've commented on it!!! *Glomps* 

Btw, to those who say the pictures of the painting aren't scary- the answer

is, they're not. It's what your imagination does to the pictures. . . As in,

mine quite easily saw that lil boy wandering into my room glowering at three

a.m... *sweatdrops* _That_ would give me a fright. 

Not a pleasant way to wake up. ^_^;; 

Please, tell me what you think! *waves*

~Windwolf 


End file.
